Work Hard | Play Harder

Month: July 2016

One of the main differences between successful and unsuccessful people is the way that they handle fear. Fear is a completely normal and unavoidable emotion that each and every one of us encounters on a fairly frequent basis in our lives. What sets apart the high achievers is that they do not let their fears hinder them from going after what they set out to achieve.

In order to grow as an individual, you must take risks in everyday life, whether they are big or small. If you want to be successful in your career and excel in the business world, you cannot avoid taking risks. Taking risks is often met with a fear of failure or a fear of the unknown. Even the most confident people experience fear from time to time. The key is to not let your fears prevent you from growing or going after your dreams.

When you find that your fears are holding you back from achieving your full potential, take a step back and put them into perspective. Often times, our fears are irrational and we need to challenge them to put them back into check. When we are about to make a big, potentially life altering decision, we tend to go into panic mode and create potential problems that do not even exist. Slow down, sit down with a pen and paper and challenge each one of those fears. Having a tangible list in front of you of which fears are actually plausible and which are irrational will allow you to throw some right out the window.

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Now that you know which fears are actually plausible, imagine the possible outcomes of your choices. What is the worst possible scenario? Is it really that bad? If so, what is the actual probability of that happening? Now imagine the best possible outcome. What impact can it have on your life? What is the probability of that happening? Now, weigh out your options, make an educated decision and try not to allow your fears to creep back in.

Another great way to kick your fears to the curb is to practice reframing your thoughts. This is something you can do everyday, not just when you have a big decision on your hands. Any time a fear or a nagging thought pops into your head, stop it dead in its tracks and challenge it. Stop the process of self doubt by changing your thoughts into positive or neutral thoughts. For example; If you are given a new task at work and a panicked thought pops in saying, “I’m never going to be able to do this!”, stop it and reframe it. Change it to something like, “This is going to be challenging, but I know I can do it, and I will learn something new.” The more you practice reframing your thoughts, the more naturally it will begin to happen. You will soon start to see things in a more positive light and fears and anxieties will have less room to sneak in.

The things that scare us most tend to have the biggest potential payoff. If we never took any risks and spent our lives allowing our fears to navigate all of our actions, our lives would be very fruitless, wouldn’t they?!